Fresh Air Retreat Palm Springs

Last month I had the opportunity to fly to Palm Springs for the Fresh Air Retreat, which is an exclusive food blogger retreat designed to bring food bloggers and brands together, creating a space to learn, connect, and grow.

Come Along A Food Blogger Retreat

It was a wonderful packed few days, filled with both fun and relaxation, mixed with major productivity and forging friendships along the way.

Liz and Lauren host retreats two times per year, each in a unique location. We flew out and we soaked up the Palm Springs sun, explored, brainstormed, met with super cool brands, and ate delicious food! I wanted to take you along the Fresh Air Retreat, and introduce you to all my new friends (we still text daily!).

Who Was There

A rising tide lifts all ships, and that was definitely the energy at the retreat. A favorite part was gathering together to problem solve for one another. We did two sessions of this on both days and man was it wonderful and helpful.

Meet my new besties:

• Liz Della Croce (The Lemon Bowl – our wonderful host)
• Lauren Grier (The Curious Plate – our wonderful host)
• Ansley Beutler (The Fit Peach)
• Christina Lane (Dessert for Two)
• Jean Choi (What Great Grandma Ate)
• Jordan Zelesnick (JZ Eats)
• Molly Thompson (What Molly Made)
• Sarah Bond (Live Eat Learn)
• Shelly Jaronsky (Cookies & Cups)
• Chef Trimell: I have to give some big love to Chef Trimell. He was our in-house private chef, and now, a friend! He is so talented and we ate really good, if you can tell by the photos!! An absolute treat. He got creative with local ingredients and themes, while also incorporating our sponsors into his dishes. He is the best- so definitely check him out and follow him on socials. He’s a gem and you’ll learn so much from him!
• All the photos in this post were taken by the wonderful Amanda Kamppinen, the photographer for the retreat!

The Retreat Sponsors!

The Fresh Air Retreat had some incredible sponsors doing amazing things in the food space, and the trip was made possible by them!

• Grocer’s List: My pal Ben from Grocer’s List flew out and walked us through some new and innovative ways to help our readers and subscribers. They have pretty wonderful technology that enables us to get you our recipes easily via social media, as well as newer things like allowing you to shop the ingredients right from Instagram! They make it all about you, the reader, and making our platforms easy to navigate and get information from! They’re just the best.
• Happy Egg Co.: They are passionate about creating a happy, healthy environment for their hens, which results in high-quality eggs and by the color of the yolks, you can tell! We talked all about the difference between free range, pasture-raised, cage free, the industry, and their hens which require a minimum of 21.8 square feet of range for every bird, which equates to 10 acres per 20,000 birds! You know I am all about eggs and the quality so this was fun! Make sure to check out their store locator to see where you can find them near you!
• Onions 52:  Onions 52 hosted a lunch which was so much fun. Chef did a fun knife demo and they pride themselves in quality products and have even developed at “Smiley” sweet onion that is virtually tearless! They are dedicated to using sustainable farming practices to ensure the quality and environmental responsibility of every onion, which I love.
• Albertsons: They kept us well-fed, especially with their exclusive Signature Select brand, which provided an amazing range of tasty, high-value products. Find them near you!
• Visit Greater Palm Springs: They hosted a memorable dinner offsite, and the meal was outstanding and the vibe was a 10/10!! Porto Via and Fuzion Five were delicious.
• California Walnuts: Walnuts are a powerhouse. Protein, fiber, antioxidants… I love them! It was a blast making charcuterie boards with California Walnuts, and learning more about storing them, eating them, their benefits, and chef created some pretty wonderful recipes that lined our charcuterie spreads, and inspired some recipes coming for the holidays to LCK!
• California Date Commission: This was a highlight. Our date tasting was soooo fun. They set up a “date flight” for us, and we tried all the varieties which varied majorly in flavor and texture. Did you know dates are low on the glycemic index? And contain tons of fiber, minerals, vitamins, and polyphenols? I loooove them.

My Happy Tears of Gratitude!

As bloggers, we don’t have the traditional co-workers, and we don’t get the opportunity to get together often to brainstorm, like in an office space. That is precisely what made the Fresh Air Retreat so very special- the friends I left with, the knowledge gained, the space to open up and be vulnerable, and the fun we had together!

It’s unique owning your own internet business where the landscape is ever-changing, and those around you are powerhouse entrepreneurs that live all across the country.

2020 slowed retreats down (to a hault), along with having two kids in that time, so I was so excited to go and connect with such amazing women (and wonderful brands)!

We don’t get together often enough, and honestly as amazing of a job as it is, it can be isolating, too! Every retreat I’ve ever attended has been gold. I always leave them with a full heart, new friends, and endless new ideas and things to implement into LCK to make it better! The Fresh Air Retreat was no exception, and I hope you enjoyed seeing a glimpse into it!